I think it's about time this little build was finished off eh? So how about by starting with one of the major thematic elements of the interior, the glowing katana!

Big shout out to Parvum Systems for helping me get these parts cut. These particular ones could have been done fine by hand, but I added them to the cutting list for simplicity as then I know everything will be done just right. That said, there was a huge amount to do to the pieces afterwards.

It's a perfect cut, but because it was a quick pass it's rough as hell. Lots of work with files and sanding ahead

Sanding and polishing done, now to prime for paintwork

Paint on and now you can see the buffed up aluminium.

And with the blade section attached. This is opal acrylic, so the lights underneath will cause the blade to glow​

Okay, I'll fess up, why on earth did I show you a lighting feature... with no lighting? Where's the damn glowing sword!?

Well simply put, I don't have any glowing lights I can use right now They'll be going into the build alright, but I don't have them external atm.

So I went and gutted the case even further so as to make room for the new rear panel. I also went and installed most of the internal panels and structure, need to make sure everything fits perfectly before I begin painting. Things are starting to look distinctly more case-like finally.

After spending a while prepping everything, London got hit with the classic curse of cruddy weather. Unfortunately my workshop is now incredibly dense so painting case panels in it is simply not a good idea, so that means painting outside for now, not so good if it's constantly raining and/or windy.

Thankfully the weather recently relented and we got some honest sunshine and respite from the wind! So now the case is all primed and ready for painting the final coats. Naturally the paint I was originally using is no longer bloody available, so I caved and got a new spraygun system so that I can ditch cans and switch to proper stuff. I put in an order for a load of paint for a few builds, which should arrive Wednesday I think?

So in the meantime, I'll be working on the interior finishing touches and getting those out the door.

W00t w00t, this is a fairly important update for the log but a bigger one for me.

So you may ask, why does it take so long to paint a case? Well that would be because the paint I was using ran out of stock... everywhere it seems, and it's been raining so so so much over the last few weeks.

So I had to combat this. Until now, I had to paint large parts (like side panels etc.) outside thanks to ventilation and overspray. Thanks to the terrible weather this simply wasn't possible. As luck would have it, on the good days a couple weeks ago there was no paint available near me.

So I took a bit of a jump and instead bought an HVLP automotive paint gun and a nice, large catering shelf to use as a spray booth. Along with the gun I picked up some white car paint and thinner. Anybody reading this who's made a similar jump or works at a business that paints items will know just how much of an improvement this is over rattle-cans.

So I now have the ability to paint larger items quicker, with a higher quality finish, cheaper, indoors and in a larger variety of colours and effects! The number of positives there is mind blowing.

Progress wise the painting is now 100% complete, I'm leaving it with a matte finish so as to match the acrylic. I've also done 90% of the cabling, will be photographing that next. So in short, this build is finally, after all these months, very close to completion!

Some excellent news for this mod! To start, it was on display over at the Thermaltake stand at i61, and yes it has survived transport haha. That was in its 95% finished state, I was still waiting for the right DDR4 and then a few aesthetic touches to add.

Well, something VERY special rolled in today, it's the new DDR4 for the project, kindly provided by Zadak511/Apacer! Next stop, final photos!